


Paper Tower

by Fibi94



Series: Universe Echo [7]
Category: Designated Survivor (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-28 17:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15712155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fibi94/pseuds/Fibi94





	1. Kirkman Agonists

Alex picked up the newspaper Tom left on the table reading the front page, “You know you and Tom make me wonder why I even stick around these days.” Trey says, his voice startles Alex who looked up from the paper, “What?” she asks puzzled, she looks at Trey noticing the look on his face and smiles sadly “I’m so sorry Trey it’s just, this is not a good time.”

Trey nods “Yeah I notices, you got Tom to see a therapist right?” Alex nods, she doesn’t regret getting Tom to see a therapist, it has helped him a lot, he’s made some remarkable strides since January, but she couldn’t stop the guilt “Yeah and now his personal notes are leaked for the whole world to see.” She says, Trey nods, he understands what Alex is saying even if she won’t say it aloud “It makes you feel guilty doesn’t it?” Alex chuckles sadly, “Wouldn’t you feel guilty if our roles were reversed?” she asks him.

Trey chuckles and nods “You do have a point.” Alex turns her attention back to the newspaper, “They’re branding him as incompetent.” She murmurs “He’s not.” She says and throws the offensive item on the couch behind her.

“You think he’s got issues don’t you?” Trey asks letting down his fork “That’s why you suggested he sees a therapist right?” Alex nods, this was a very hard time, she remembers how much it hurt when she didn’t manage to get Tom to open up to her, or anyone else. “Do you think that’s all?” he asks, Alex wishes he could just stop but she knows Trey well enough to know he needs answers, and she knows that he deserves them as well. “Tom is still dealing with the bombing, he still hasn’t dealt with mother’s death!”

* * *

 

“Tom, I just heard.” Alex says entering the office, he looks up from his papers and smiles, but it’s sad and hollow, “It’s not getting any better Alex.” He tells her, he leans back on his chair and runs his hands over his face, “It will, the American people can’t keep it over your head that you asked for help.” She tells him, she knows deep down that they could, Americans in general are still not comfortable dealing with mental health issues. “Yeah but we’ll sure watch them try. Fox news is calling me incompetent, so that was fun!” he says sarcastically, Alex sits on the desk and chuckles, “Fox and Friends?” she asks, Tom rolls his eyes, “They had Hannity on.”

“Half of America gets mental health advice from Sean fucking Hannity” Alex says rolling her eyes, she looks at Tom, he looks a bit lost just looking straight ahead not really focusing on anything, “Tom?” he turns and looks at her, “How are you?” she asks him, Tom looks away for a moment, she knows this reaction a little too well, “I feel like I’ve been stripped naked in the middle of the city.” She smiles and stands up from the desk moving to his lap, his hand goes to her waist “I’m fucked up Alex.” He tells her, Alex leans forward, their foreheads touching, “We all are.” She tells him, “I love you, even fucked up.”

* * *

 

Alex sees Aaron, Lyor Kendra and Emily run towards the oval on her way back to her office and decides to follow them, she heard something about a meeting with the cabinet she whishes this isn’t what she thinks but when she sees them barge in the room like they do it confirms her worse fears, “What’s going on?” he asks,

“A coop sir!” Emily says, Alex is standing by the door, “You need to call the Vice president right now.” Emily says, Alex walks in the room, “They are evoking the 25th?” she asks wanting to confirm her suspicions.

“Alex.” Tom says, Emily turns to her “Ma’am it’s…” she starts but Kendra interrupts her, “They are.” She says.

“Ellenor, that’s all her!” Alex says, she starts pacing up and down the room; Tom looks at her puzzled “Call her I’ll explain.” Tom picks up the phone and asks from his secretary to get Ellenor in the oval he hangs up and turns to Alex who is still fuming. “What did you mean?” he asks, “Tom the issue needs to be brought from the Vice President to the cabinet! She raised the issue and started the vote, if they truly are evoking the 25th it’s all Ellenor!” she said, everyone in the room takes a step back, Alex’s explosion takes them by surprise, “But she, she said.” Tom is at loss of words, “She agreed with me!” he says, Kendra interrupts them, “Well there is another way.” She says, Alex turns to her and looks at her with a slight puzzlement in her eyes, “Unanimous vote?” Alex asks, she had thought of this possibility but she eliminated it pretty soon because she knew there was at least one person that wouldn’t have done it, “It’s a grey area, many scholars find it icky, they don’t find it legal, but it could be it.” Kendra says, Alex shakes her head, “It couldn’t be unanimous; Kimble wouldn’t do it, not without talking to me first.” She says, something in the back of her head was telling her not to be so sure, Ellenor stabbed her in the back why not Kimble? “Or Cornelius, he’s still suspended right?” Kendra adds, Alex sees the glint of pain in Kendra’s eyes, this betrayal is just setting in with her as well and it hurts her just as much. “It couldn’t be unanimous.” She murmurs under her breath, as if she’s trying to convince herself.

* * *

 

“Alex!” Eleanor is shocked to see Alex barge in her office but the other woman did not have time for small talk, “Sit down.” She orders the other woman, “I’ll speak, you’ll listen!” she slams her hands on the desk, it makes Eleanor flinch but she hides it well. “I trusted you, I thought of you as a friend, but you went behind my back and stabbed my husband in the back, he might forgive, he might even let you keep your job when he runs for reelection but I won’t. You have one chance and only one to tell me exactly what happened in those meetings.” Alex studies Eleanor carefully the other woman looks nervous, and she feels glad about it, she doesn’t know why but this feels like such a deep betrayal, she barely knew Eleanor but the fact that she trusted her so much in such a short time and especially given that she supported Tom on his face but then behind his back she just had no problem siding with the cabinet to remove him from office to get the power of the presidency all for herself.

“I didn’t have much of a say Alex. At first I called a meeting to see their stance on the issue how we would react but then they,” Alex’s face is hard, not changing expressions no matter how much she tried to show her side of the story, it hits Ellenor that this meant that she probably just lost one of her closest friends, it sounds so weird right now she barely knows Alex for a month and yet the two of them became extremely close maybe the fact that they both lived under the same bubble pushed them closer that either wanted to admit “13 to 2, my vote included, what could I do? I tried to get the president the best deal I could.” She says, she might get in trouble she knows that, Alex takes a deep breath and sits down, “14 to 2?” she repeats almost to herself she knew that the majority of the cabinet voted against Tom but this was nearly unanimous,  “Just you and Kimble.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.” Ellenor says, “What did Kimble say?”Alex asks, Ellenor chuckles remembering Kimble’s reaction, “She called the cabinet self serving bastards who only cover their asses, before voting no and slamming the door on her way out.” Alex smiles.

She looks at Ellenor, for a moment she had pushed the actual issue she was here for in the back of her mind the bigger issue taking over but now she couldn’t ignore it any longer.  “You don’t have to sign the letter, they can’t do anything.”

“They can go public, they can resign en mass, they could stay and undermine the administration.” Alex chuckles darkly she stands up and leans forward on Ellenor’s desk, “Right now the only undermining the administration is you.”

“I know, I know it seems that way but I can’t ignore the tapes Alex. The doctor talked about PTSD and survivor’s guilt.” Ellenor says, she looks at Alex, the guilt in her eyes is there but Alex chooses to ignore it, this is a sign of her friend peaking through the vice president and she can’t have that, because her friend wouldn’t have gone behind their backs with such worries. “Can you look me in the eye and tell me he’s actually dealing with those?”

“They’re not affecting his judgment; you know that as well as I do.” Alex says, “Maybe not at home, but he nearly dragged us into a war, without congressional approval.” Ellenor mentions, this for Alex is the last straw, she knows damn well what happened in PEOC and Tom didn’t drag the country into a war alone  and if Ellenor wanted to wash her hands clean of it, Alex wasn’t willing to let her do it.

“Which you agreed with.”

* * *

 

“More tapes this time from the first lady’s therapist leak causing more doubts about the president’s mental health and-“ Tom turns off the TV this seems like a never ending nightmare. He feels like quitting right about now, he just wants to quit and run away, hide under a blanket and never come out. Soon the door opens and Alex walks in, “Tom!” she says she goes straight for his open arms and just wraps hers around him.  “Alex. This is never going to end.” He murmurs into her hair.

“I’m so sorry. I feel like I just keep getting you in more trouble.” She says slightly pulling back to see his face, Tom smiles, his attempt half never even reaching his eyes, “No, no you were worried, you told me you were, you’re not getting me in trouble, it shouldn’t get me in trouble that we saw a professional for some issues we have.” Alex bites her lip, normally it shouldn’t but she knows politics well enough to know that it will cost him, a lot especially if he chooses to run for reelection.

Tom pulls back and walks back to his desk and sits down, he takes a deep breath, “You went and saw Ellenor?” he asks her bracing for a fight, he knew his wife well enough to know it is coming. Her eyes narrow, “How would you know that?” she asks him, Tom sits back he knows she’s about to explode and he doesn’t want to be close by, “Emily told me, I told you not to get involved.” He tells her, Alex stands up, he can see he vain on her neck pulsing, “First tell Emily to stay out of my business or I will and she won’t like it and second I didn’t go to see your vice president I went to see my friend who had stabbed me in the back and find out if another of my friends did the same too!”

“Alex it is my business if it gets out that the first lady is out there twisting arms on this issue? Hell I might as well resign!”

“It didn’t harm Jed Bartlet did it?” she says turning around and starring at him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“That’s not the point Alex and you know it’s not.”

“Then what is the point Tom? Please explain to me!” Tom is frustrated his hands closed in tight fists, “They don’t see me as a legitimate president anymore Alex, they don’t think I have any leverage left! And having my wife out there, giving punches and twisting arms for me it shows them that I have no one else left to do it.” Tom looked down, he was embarrassed of what he was about to say, “It proves to them I’m weak and alone in this job.”

Alex bites her lip, “So does the fact that your cabinet wanted to evoke the 25th amendment. You’re not so worried about that leaking.”

“I am. But I can do nothing about it.” He says, Alex shakes her head, she can’t believe they are fighting about this, “I know.” Tom walks to her and takes her hand in his leading her to the couch behind them sitting down, his arm wrapping around her shoulder pulling her closer, “What did Ellenor tell you? She’s been ghosting me ever since we met with Ethan West.” He tells her; Alex looks up, “14 to 2” Alex simply says Tom looks at her, his blue eyes wide “14 people? Lyor suggested I fire 7 to get the upper hand.” Alex takes a deep breath, “No Tom, he was wrong. You need to fire at least 12” she states; Tom bites his lip, “12.” He repeats in despair, Alex takes his face in her hands and leans forward their foreheads touching.

“Who were the two that voted in my favor?” he asks after a few minutes of silence, “Kimble and Ellenor.” Alex says, she can see something flash in Tom’s eyes, she doesn’t want to believe it but it looks like resignation, she’s worried he is actually thinking of quitting, she’s doesn’t know what to think about it.

“She could not sign it, right?” he asks, she’s surprised of the changes in his behavior but she tries to ignore it, “If she refuses to sign the letter then… then no one can force her.”

“The cabinet still has power Tom, they could still go public with everything, they could start leaking, they could resign en masse, start undermining you. Hell there is a thousand things they can do.”

“But they know I could fire them.” He walks to his desk sitting down, Alex walks closer to him and leans against the desk, “And then you would put yourself on a corner.” She tells him, “How?” he asks taking his glasses from the desk and putting them on, “The vindictive empyreal president who silences opposition and fires his critics.” Tom looks up from his papers a smile on his lips, “Sounds like an opening statement on Judge Jeannine.” He tells her joking, “It could be,” she smirks “Or the headline of the Washington Post.”

Tom started writing something down but stops and looks up, “You think I should agree on the hearings?”

“You know it’s a runaway train right?” Tom nods, of course he knew they had this conversation a few months before, “Ethan West is good! He won’t leave any stone unturned. He’ll look everywhere.”

“I know.”

“He could end your presidency.”

“I know that too.” Tom leans back against his chair, “Lyor suggested I should resign, before being forced to leave in disgrace and have my legacy tarnished. What do you think?”

Alex smirks, “I think Lyor is wrong. But then again you’re my husband I might be a bit biased.” He smirks and lowers his head, “In the end, Ethan West is a lot of things, he’s a self serving bastard willing to bend the rules but there’s one thing he’s not, he’s not unfair Tom, yes he’ll look under every stone, but he’s not going to do you dirty.”

“And yet you think I should take my battle to the senate.”

“50 jurors and a judge predisposition to you or one judge juror and executioner? No matter how fair Ethan West is, your chances are still better.” There’s a look on his face that she hasn’t seen for a long time, he's resigning already, “Maybe I should just resign Alex, we could move back to New York, have another kid. Just live normal.” Alex shakes her head, “Tom you’ll always be a former president, our lives will never be normal.” She stops abruptly her brain just realizing what he had told her, “You really want another kid?” she asks him she is shocked, she knew that Tom always wanted a big family but she thought he was alright and content with their current situation, “Well, yeah.” She smirks. “How long have you been thinking about it?” she knows his answer, she knows he never stopped thinking about it. She’s surprised he thought about that, she doesn’t know how to react if she’s honest, had he told her that before Christmas she would take his offer and run with it to the end of the world but now she’s not so sure.

“Ever since we had Penny, more and more since Christmas Eve, I was watching baby Grace, she was sleeping peacefully in her crib and I… I just wanted another kid more than I had ever though.” She smirks, the idea intrigues her, “Maybe we should try, I mean we’re not young Tom, it’s gonna take us a while.” She tells him “Why wait until you’re out of office?” there’s a bright smile on his face, it lights up the room, “It might be too late by then” she whispers under her breath, Tom didn’t hear what she said, “What?” he asks, “Excuse me?”

“You said something before.” He tells her, Alex shakes her head, “No, I said why wait until you’re out of office.” Tom smiles and looks at all the papers in front of him, he doesn’t want to go back to work but he should,

“Oh. Ok. I have to get back to work; we should talk about that more when I come back home.” Alex smiles, “Yeah.” She leans forward taking his face in her hands and kissed him as passionately as she could. “I’m throwing away my birth control pills by the way.” She tells him before leaving the room, “You should already have done that.” Tom tells her, she stops by the door, and watches him, he has already leaned back over his papers, “Tom.” She calls his name and he looks up, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

 

Alex decided to get back to her office before going to the residence, there was a knock on the door and her assistant walks in “Ma’am Secretary Hookstraten is here to see you, should I let her in?” she asks, she’s surprised that Kimble came to see her, “Kimble!” she stands up and shakes the other woman’s hand, “Hey, I thought about going to the president but I am not sure he’d like to see me, so I came here, but I realized halfway through you might not either.” She says looking down, smiles, “I did, I wanted to see you.” Kimble looks at her a look of surprise and puzzlement in her face, “Really?” she asks, Alex nods and walks to the couch she placed by one of the large windows in the room, “Yeah, I heard” she says sitting down, “I bullied Ellenor into telling me that you didn’t vote to remove Tom.” Kimble walks to Alex and sits down next to her, “No,” she says, she chuckles. “He’s pissing me off more than I thought was possible and god knows how many times I wanted to punch him in the face, but I like him, he's got this,” she smirks, “Innocence, this optimism, this boyish charm. He’s different from our bunch, one in a million years, and Americans would be stupid to get rid of him.” Alex hears the emotions rising in Kimble’s voice, “We had Reagan in the oval with early Alzheimer and no one voted to remove him, Nixon was a paranoiac, Kissinger had to stop him from launching nuclear missiles. No one voted to remove him either.”  Alex smiles, “That’s what I said.” She says, there was a wonderful comfortable silence between them; she bites her lip not sure how to break the news to Kimble, “Tom will agree to the enquiry with West.”

“Let’s hope he won’t lose.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

 

Tom delayed going upstairs but he knew this wasn’t something he could avoid for long, Alex wasn’t really comfortable with him agreeing to the inquiry but he realizes that she will support him, he knows she will, walking up the stairs, his feet are getting heavier by every step. “Sir, are you ok?” Mike asks worried, Tom turns and smiles sadly to his friend “I might be getting kicked out of here soon Mike.” He admits.

Years of training allow Mike to keep his shock hidden as he swallows a gasp forming in his throat, “You might not.” He simply says, he doesn’t know where he finds the strength to give to his friend a smirk but he does. They reach the living room and Tom turns around “Good night Mike.” He says before disappearing in the bedroom. Mike smiles and nods, “Good night sir.” He says, the door closes and he finds himself just staring at it, the words of his friend, of his president ringing in his mind, he might be getting kicked out soon, how could that be happening, how was it even fair?

He doesn’t have the answers to those questions; all he has is faith so he prays for the first time in years to whoever listening.

* * *

 

Alex isn’t sure what Kendra is asking from her, she blinks a couple times just sitting there staring at the other woman “Are you kidding me?” she asks still in shock, “No, I meant it Alex, you know Ethan West, I don’t, your presence in the room would be helpful.”

Alex breathes in and out slowly, “I’m the first lady, my husband is on trial this is as wrong as it goes.” She reminds Kendra who smirks back “That didn’t stop you when it was your mother!” she reminds her, Alex rolls her eyes, she wants to believe that she has learned from those mistakes “And we know how that turned out.”

“Listen I am not saying you coming as a co-counsel I am just saying I want you in the room, in the audience, that’s all.” Alex looks at Kendra carefully, “Fine!”

* * *

 

She knew she was late so she tried to walk in the bedroom making the minimum amount of noise, to her surprise though she found Tom still awake, he was sitting on the bed, a heavy folder in his lap as he was going through page after page, he looks up from the papers when he hears the door open “Hey.” He says, there’s a smile but it’s clearly faked, Alex wonders what he might be hiding but doesn’t mention anything “Hey, I thought you’d be sleeping.” She says letting her blazer on the back of the chair in front of the small desk, “Kendra and I have no sense of time sometimes.” She says walking to the bed.

“Yeah I noticed,” he bites the inside of his cheek, there's a question burning him he wants to ask her, it’s something he heard Kendra talking about earlier and it’s still bugging him “Tom what’s going on?” she asks, his poker face was terrible after all. “Did Kendra asked you to be co-counsel?”

Alex smiles “No, she did ask me to be in the room though.”

“Why?” Tom asks, he’s a little surprised, honestly thinking Kendra wouldn’t want Alex anywhere near the courtroom tomorrow, “I’m the only person that has ever come close to beating Ethan West.”


	2. Capacity

Alex was waiting impatiently outside of the oval waiting for Kendra to come out, she found a packed bag in their closet, she waits for the other woman to walk out. Finally Kendra walks out, she’s frustrated even if she tries to hide it, “Kendra” she smiles and Alex follows Kendra towards Kendra’s office, “How’s it going in there?” she asks her as soon as the door is closed behind them.

“He’s distracted, he was scribbling something the whole damn time too!” she says frustrated dumping her files on the desk with a loud thud.

“I have an idea what that might be.” Alex says, Kendra’s head snaps, “What?” she asks.

“Well if I judge by the packed suitcase I found in our closet, probably a letter to Eleanor.” Kendra groans sitting down on her chair, “That son of a bitch.” She says frustrated, she spend the whole night up trying to come up with a working strategy and he was packing his bags making space for Eleanor Darby to come and take his place. “I was busting my ass trying to get us a fair share in the hearing and he’s already resigned.”

Alex smiles sadly and reaches for one of Kendra’s hands over the desk, “Don’t blame him Kendra, this isn’t his world. He’ll get there.” She tries to reassure her, she can’t imagine how worried and nervous she must be, having to defend the president of the United States against possible impeachment is like nothing else.

“You know better.”

“You sure you still want me in the room?” Alex asks after staying silent for a few moments, she’s still worried about all the conflicts that might arise, “Won’t I be a conflict?”

“You might, but you’re also the only lawyer to have come close to beating Ethan West, you get under his skin, we could use that.” Kendra says smirking mischievously.

“I’ll be glad to get under his skin, even if it is only to tear it apart and wear it as a coat.” Alex says, it makes Kendra winch, “Too much.” She says, Alex laughs and leans back against her chair, “Oh well.”

* * *

 

When Aaron gets Hannah’s call that’s she’s ready to present the case he feels his blood freezing, he knows she’s in no position to do so, her feelings are probably clouding her judgment, Damian’s body was barely cold and as much as he hates to admit it, he knows she has had feelings for him.

He wonders how he would react if he was in her position and he knows that he’d react the exactly same way. He meets her outside the president’s private office, she’s out of her grey sweater and now wears a deep purple silk shirt, she looks tired, but he doesn’t comment on it, he just opens the door for her.

* * *

 

Tom really didn’t want to leave the office, especially for something as unimportant in his eyes as food but he does mainly because all the things Hannah told him made him want to talk to Alex all of sudden, she knew Andrea when in high school and she always was a better judge of character than he was. She was helping the butler set the table, for a moment it takes his mind off of the situation he has to face back downstairs.

She turns when she hears his briefcase hit the floor, Tom is standing there, his tie slightly undone, she turns to the butler behind her and mutters “Thank you” before dismissing him. “Tom, honey you look weird.” She tells him placing her hand on his shoulder gently leading him to the couch.

“It’s Hannah, I think her relationship with Damian has compromised her.” she looks at him surprised, in the recent months she has gotten closer to Hannah and she knows for a fact that her relationship with Damian wasn’t as important as people might have thought, sure she had feelings for him, and sure she actually cared for him, Hannah tries to act as if she doesn’t care about anything and anyone, and for a moment Alex believed her, but in reality she did cared.

“Tom Hannah shot him, there’s no relationship.” She knows she lied, but she thinks she knows where this is going and doesn’t want to give him any gripping room.

“She came to me earlier and accused Andrea of being the hacker.” Alex bites her lip, when the hacking happened she had started suspecting Andrea but she kept her lips shut because she was almost certain this was just her own personal feelings.

“Oh.”

“Oh? You believe her?” he seems shocked and surprised that she agrees with Hannah. “Well it wouldn’t be too out of the realm of possibilities now would it?” she can see parts of the resolve he had, and the support to Andrea starts breaking. “You believe Hannah?” he asks. Alex bites her lip, she can see Tom isn’t ready to accept that someone he let in his life might be stabbing him on the back. “Well, Hannah is probably the only person so far, that has never tried to stab us in the back Tom, neither of us.”

* * *

 

She watches Tom’s back as he leaves the building to probably go back to the White House, Alex was right when she told her that Tom probably wouldn’t use whatever evidence Hannah has against Andrea, they both were hopeful that if it didn’t came from Alex or Hannah, both of whom Tom was seeing as biased against Andrea it might have worked better, but apparently it hasn’t. When she sees the other woman walking out of the room “This whole hearing is derailing Kendra! We’re losing it!” Alex says, Kendra bites her lip and nods, “I know!”

“He won’t use _the thing_ against Andrea.” Kendra says, Alex’s face twists in a pained expression, “Shit!” she curses under her breath.

“Do we know exactly the evidence Hannah has?” Kendra asks, Alex can feel her worry it’s something she feels too. “No.”

“I’ll find out.” Kendra reassures her as the two of them start walking outside, they know that Tom took the beast back to the White House a long time and they’ll have to take another car.

This might give them more time to build a strategy without Tom objecting to every other thing.

* * *

 

Alex is waiting impatiently for Kendra to come back after going to Aaron’s office for Hannah to tell her what she has. She’s waiting for about twenty minutes before Kendra opens the door and walks in, the other woman is a little surprised by it seeing Alex wait there “I couldn’t wait up in the residence.” She simply says. Kendra smiles and nods. Looking around Alex notices once again how she’s the only one from the administration not packing her things up. It gives her a warm feeling knowing that Kendra, at least, still believes in Tom. “What did Hannah said?” she asks, Kendra walks slowly to her chair and sits down, “She has some circumstantial evidence that Andrea was behind the hacking.”

Alex and Kendra spend about an hour talking over all the things Hannah gave them trying to tie them to the case they already had when the there was a knock on the door. Looking up they see Tom peeking through “you two are always together.” He says, there’s a smile on his lips, but it’s subdued “Are you cheating on me?” he asks Alex, his attempted to make a joke was a little failed but it still made Alex smile “Yes ever since you hired her.” she tells him a big smile on her lips as she stands up and walks the short distance to meet him at the door.

Alex pulls him in the office and wraps her arms around his waist pulling him closer “Is it time?” she asks him, Tom doesn’t answer just nods. “Great.” Alex says, a smile still on her lips, she turns to Kendra, her friend able to see the worry even through the plastered smile “We’ll meet you in the car.” Alex says, her voice a little too cheerful for Kendra’s ears as she nods.

The door closes behind her and she wonders what the hell she’s going to do.

* * *

 

Alex moved from the front sitting next to Kendra on the desk, she was surprised when Kendra forwarded the motion and even more shocked when Eleanor allowed it.

“Who’s up next?” she asks Kendra looking with the other lawyer through the witnesses list Ethan had submitted.

“Emily.” Kendra says under her breath, Alex rolls her eyes, Emily is not a great witness, not great at all. Kendra told her about Emily leaking to the press about the Moss investigation and she would love to keep Emily as far away from this kangaroo court as possible.

“Oh god.” She groans “Let’s hope they don’t ask her of the other _thing_ ” Kendra looks at her, her eyebrows raising as she tries to keep her smirk to herself, “You went head to head with Ethan, won’t he?” she asks Alex winches “He’ll go straight for the jugular.” She says, Kendra sighs, she is surprised by that sound, she didn’t really expect for this sound to ever come out of her lips, “That’s what I thought.”

* * *

 

“Ms Rhodes, are you loyal to the president?” West’s first question makes Alex winch, she knows exactly where he’s going with that, he’ll twist all of Emily’s actions as pushed on her by Tom and there were so many missteps and many of them could prove fetal to Tom’s presidency.

“Of course” Emily answers unblinking. “And you follow his directives?” Alex feels Kendra kicking her soflty under the desk. “I’m his chief of staff. I carry them out.” She braces herself for what is surely about to come if Emily doesn’t keep her mouth shut, “Let’s talk about how you do that.” Alex sees Emily breaking a little “The president deserves a modicum of loyalty.” Kendra turns to Alex, she can see the other woman is ready to jump over the desk just to kill Emily. “You laundered evidence. Leaking to make a case against a leaker, you don’t see the irony?”

Kendra knew this was going to, she knew from the beginning that the case against Moss was coming back whether they liked it or not.

“Well the president is obsessed with loyalty.” Kendra grabs Alex’s hand tightly trying to stop the other woman from throwing anything near her to West’s head. “He’s not obsessed.” Emily responds, Kendra is unnerved by her short and emotionless answers, the lawyer in her was glad she got a witness able to contain her emotions, neither Aaron nor the doctor were that so far, but the friend and advisor in her was pissed off that the person supposedly the biggest supported and protector of the president was as cold as the stone.

“Preoccupied?”

“The president is a very loyal man.”

* * *

 

Alex feels the headache getting stronger, she looks up her eyes are getting red from the insomnia she has in the last couple days since the hacking happened. She throws some cold water on her face trying to numb the pain, she knows it’s to no avail but she wants to try everything and anything else than actually taking any painkillers, after the accident she had to take many and she didn’t like the feeling too much, certainly not while being in a court room.

“You’re not gonna believe it.” Kendra tells her as soon as she takes her seat, “What?” Alex asks, Kendra pushes a paper towards Alex while she was gone Ethan had submitted the papers to call another witness to the stand. “Cornelius?” Alex asks surprised, she didn’t think Cornelius would fall so low to actually come and testify against Tom. “Oh crap. We’re screwed.” Alex mutters.

* * *

 

The moment Ethan got up and started walking to Moss Alex just felt the blinding migraine come back.

“How far do your concerns about the President's mental health go back?” he asks, “Months. At least since his wife’s nearly fatal car accident.” Tom notices how both Kendra and Alex tense at Cornelius’ words. He can’t believe he brought all this down on himself. “And what was the basis of this concern?”

“I personally observed President Kirkman's growing and dangerous paranoia.” Kendra turns to Alex and mutters “What?” Alex shrugs “I have no clue” she mutters back.

“And as a member of the President's cabinet, did you also notice the mental deterioration?”

“Don’t” Kendra whispers to Alex when she sees the other woman’s fists curling, “I’m fine” Alex responds “Since the day of his wife's accident, absolutely.”

“Why the hell does he keep bringing up this accident?” Alex asks Kendra under her breath, “I don’t know” Kendra sighs “Prick!”

“Did you take these concerns to him?” Ethan asks again, Kendra starts scribbling down a few words, preparing her questions, “Repeatedly. He was defensive. Accused me of not supporting him.” Alex remembers very well the time Tom accused Moss of not supporting him and it was right before he fired him and honestly she can’t say that he was completely wrong about it.

“What did you notice about his decision-making after his wife’s accident?” he asks, Kendra leans closer to Alex “If he mentions the car crash once again I will punch him in the fucking face” Alex bites the inside of her cheek to stop the large smile that was fighting it’s way on her face.

“Erratic. At times, dangerously impetuous. At times, crippled by indecision. You fold in the paranoia, you've got a toxic combination.”

“So, in your expert opinion, is Tom Kirkman fit to continue as President?” Alex takes a deep breath and looks at Tom with the corner of her eye trying to see his reaction.

“No. No, he is not.”

Kendra stands up, there’s a hundred questions running in her head but she has to try and find Moss’ buttons soon.

“Secretary Moss... did you leave the Kirkman administration on good terms?”

“No.” she can see his frustration when she called him Secretary Moss, and takes a deep breath, this was one of his sore thumbs and she plans on using it as much as possible.

“What happened?”

“I became weary of President Kirkman's accusations that I was undermining him. Tired of his failure to follow my counsel. So I resigned.” She wishes this was under oath, she could have him for perjury very easily if that was, but sadly as she said to the president earlier this morning the 25th amendment procedure is not like normal court.

“In fact, you were fired.”

“I was not.” His refusal is pushing Kendra “Oh, come on, Mr. Secretary...”

“It's "Mr. President", Ms. Daynes.” He interrupts her, Kendra smirks, she can’t stop herself this time, she made him explode in the middle of the room, she hears a chuckle to her left and turns slightly to see Kimble using her hand to cover her face when she realized that others heard her.  “And I know what you're implying. That I'm here on a vendetta. Except I was not fired. In fact, President Kirkman held a press conference in which he acknowledged reluctantly accepting my resignation. Surely you're not suggesting President Kirkman is a liar.”

* * *

 

Alex was watching Tom carefully the whole silent ride back to the White House, he seemed to be in another world, barely responding to anything going on around him, it took her three tries to even get him to get out of the car when they parked in the underground garage.

“How much damage did Moss do?” Tom asks as soon as the door closed behind them. Kendra looks at Alex at a loss, she doesn’t know how much of the truth to tell him, both of their worry that he will once again resign just as he was getting into a fight mode, is present and scary to both. Alex nods, she knows that the need to protect Tom is there in both of them but she has learned that she isn’t protecting him by lying to him.

“A respected ex-President. He hurt us, sir.”

“It was brilliant.” Alex says, Tom turns and looks at her surprised, “Excuse me?” he asks, “Moss leaked classified intel. Now he's testifying against you. He helps oust you, his legal problems are over.”  She explains, Tom seems to come to the realization of the trap he has fallen into, it was really masterful he has to admit it.

“Right. If I somehow manage to survive this, my administration's subsequent prosecution of him would look like political retribution.” He chuckles, this was truly masterful and he feels stupid not seeing it.

“Yes, sir. I think Moss is the reason your Cabinet turned against you.” Kendra tells him, Alex had told her how Tom came to appoint most of his cabinet. Alex doesn’t want to think that Cornelius was playing any games at the beginning but right now she can’t but see that he seemed to be playing the long game.

“They're all his people. I appointed them at his recommendation.” Tom mutters to himself, Alex walks closer to him and just puts her hand on his shoulder trying to stop the self hating spiral she’s sure he has fallen, “They're loyal to him. I'm betting he orchestrated a whisper campaign. Primed his people for the 25th.” She tells him, Tom smiles a little and puts his hand on hers

“Well, I can't worry about what he did. I need to worry about what we're going to do. Kendra, where to do we stand?” he asks.

“We're doing our best, sir, but we need to change hearts and minds, and I'm not sure we're doing that.”

* * *

 

Alex was clutching her coat tightly the cold outside was biting and she was still shivering when she walked in the outer office, as she was whipping the water from the rain from her coat she almost collided with Ethan, “Ethan what a terrible surprise.” She says containing her surprise at seeing him there, there's a smirk on his lips and it almost makes her wanna punch him.

“Madam first lady, you don’t like me do you?” he asks her, still smiling, Alex narrows her eyes, she tries really hard not to punch him breaking his teeth or even better chocking him with his bowtie. “Take a guess.”

“There’s nothing personal, just doing my job.” he says, the smile from his face dropping, Alex rolls her eyes, “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

* * *

 

“Fuck off.” Alex mutters under her breath when she sees Trey walking in the room, she can see Tom is just as surprised when he sees his brother walking in, “Is there anything about Trey that might come bite us in the ass?” Kendra asks, Alex bites her lip, her mind going straight back in 1998 just months before she got back together with Tom.

“There’s one thing, Tom doesn’t know, it could certainly bite _me_ in the ass.” Alex says, she sees Kendra winching, “Great!” she mutters under her breath.

“Mr. Kirkman, would you do anything to protect your brother?” Alex can see that Trey wasn’t really comfortable being in this room much less answering questions.

“I'm not sure I know what you mean by "anything."”

“Well, did you confront me at the White House mess earlier today?” Alex and Tom turn to Kendra almost at the same time, she was the only one of the three of them unsurprised by what West had said given that she had seen Trey and West talking to one another. She writes down _later_ trying to focus on what Trey was saying.

“I wouldn't call it a "confrontation."It was a conversation.” She was surprised that he was holding up so well under question, he hadn’t put a foot out of line so far, but then again West only asked him a couple questions so far.

“A pretty threatening conversation. I wonder, uh, did your brother put you up to it?” Alex couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes, this was such an overreaction, there’s no way Trey actually threatened West, she knows Trey and he’s barely confrontational. 

“My brother didn't put me up to anything.” Tom looks up he can hear the frustration in his brother’s voice clearly. He waits to see where West will take all this, he doesn’t really understand why his brother was called on the stand really.

“So you confronted me of your own volition?”

“Yep.”

“Well, considering the role I play in your brother's fate, uh, do you think that's rational?” Trey narrows his eyes looking at the other man standing in front of him, he knows normally he should say ‘no it wasn’t’ maybe even apologize for doing it, but he can’t bring himself to.

“I'll let you be the judge of that.” He says, not actually realizing that he is falling into the carefully placed trap.

“It's irrational, but it's not surprising 'cause your family has a history of mental illness.” As soon as the words leave West’s mouth Alex winches, she knew he would go there, she knew it from the moment Trey walked in the room but it still hurt, she tries to see how Tom reacted to that and from the corner of her eye, she can see him leaning forward.

“We have no such history.” The moment he said that Alex knew exactly where West would go next, the chickens were finally coming home to roost.

“Well, you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and spent two weeks in the hospital in 1998.” West says, Tom looks at his wife surprised, he sees her not being surprised and he wonders if she knew.

“I was under observation. I was going through a break-up with a long-term girlfriend.” His voice sounds very even and contained but Kendra can see the little parts of the façade breaking and crumbling down. “You still on your meds?” she doesn’t know why this question bothers her so much but it does.

“Yes. When you're diagnosed, they keep you on the medication as a precaution.” She can see the president next to her trying to keep his smile at bay, he’s probably happy and proud of his brother managing to stay on his medication and lead a pretty healthy and normal life but she can see, deep down he’s still feeling betrayed that he didn’t came to him with this problem.

“And your mother was hospitalized, too, with depression in 1975.” Tom looks down for a moment, he had talked to Alex about his parents’ marriage but never in much detail he doesn’t remember that time too well, it was just a year after Trey was born, he later found out she was suffering from post partum depression, he was barely eight years old and he remembers in a cloud being taken to visit her by his grandmother just months before he lost her. Everything derailed in his young life after those five days his mother was hospitalized, he remembers that clearly. 

“She was briefly in a facility.”

“Mental illness runs in your family.”

“No, being human does.” West nods and sits down, Kendra walks in front of the stand, her hands were shaking that’s why she has them clenched in tight fists, she only has one question in mind and only one she wants to ask, it might be the wrong strategy but she can’t really think of much more to ask him. She hates that he has to go through this horrific procedure, that he had to bare his soul in front of strangers and she hates that she couldn’t protect him from those things.

“Mr. Kirkman, to your knowledge, has your brother ever been treated for any mental illness?” she asks, she sees the small smirk on his lips when he hears her question, there’s a spark in his eyes that returns, it makes her anger subside, “No.” he says, a simple one word answer is enough to make her feel like a whole new person.

“Thank you.” She says, but Trey thinks it’s really him that should be thanking her.

* * *

 

Alex was playing with her wedding band on their way back to the White House, Tom had some urgent meetings about the budget bill he was negotiating with congress for months and she decided to follow him, “Did you know?” he asks her, she stays silent for a moment, this was the question she knew was coming but she was dreading the actual conversation. “About Trey did you know?” he asks again, Alex takes a deep breath and nods, “Yeah.” She says, she turns and sees him staring at her, “Since when?”

“Since he was hospitalized, I was at the clinic for a case and saw him there, stayed behind, we talked a bit and he told me about it.” He looks up to avoid her eyes, she doesn’t need to see his to know that he feels betrayed and hurt by her not telling him, “Why not tell me Alex?” he mutters.

“Cause it wasn’t my business.” She pauses not really sure whether to tell him the other reason why she actually couldn’t contact him, not without Trey’s help anyway. “Also, the thug that robbed you a few months before Trey was diagnosed was Jeffrey.” She says, he looks at her confused for a moment before he actually remembers what she means, he remembers clearly getting robbed on his way back from work one night, begging almost the man to at least not take his SIM card, that’s all he asked, the man laughed at him before knocking him down and taking his wallet, emptying his pockets and taking his phone with the SIM card too. “So even if I wanted I couldn’t contact you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me later, when we started dating?” he asks, he knows what she’ll say, they are together long enough to know her way of thinking, “Do I need to remind you that about two months after we started dating again I found out I was pregnant, and what that debacle meant?” Tom bites his lip looking away, this was exactly what he thought, she wasn’t wrong, the first months of getting back together were really hectic, from getting to know each other all over again, to getting to know what had happened to one another and all the scars they were now carrying to Alex actually getting pregnant these first couple months were anything but the normal ‘honeymoon’ months a normal relationship might have. “And anyway I thought that was something Trey should tell you.”

Her words make something click in Tom’s head, he right now realizes why she tried so many times in the past four to five years their relationship was deterioting to get them back to speaking terms, why after each and every fight he had with Trey it was Alex inviting him for Sunday dinner or a Christmas party or a birthday party. “That’s why you tried to get us to reconcile all those times.”

“Yeah.” She says, Tom turns around and sees her face there was a sadness and regret in her eyes, “Sorry you had to find out about it that way.” She says, it makes him smile as he reaches for her hand and shakes his head no, “Mental health is not a strong suit in my family.” He says, it makes her smile back to him as she uses her free hand to cup his face.  “On the contrary, I think it’s the strongest”

* * *

 

“Trey.” Tom sees his brother slowly turning around taking his eyes off of the garden just now starting to peeking through the heavy blanket of snow that was covering it the previous few months. He walks to the couches and sits down, “I'm sorry, Tom.” He says, his voice trying to hold an appearance of strength which is crumbling fast and both men know it. “For what?” Tom asks baffled, he doesn’t see anything Trey did that would ensure him apologizing but apparently his brother sees something that he doesn’t.

“I hurt you in there.” He simply says, it’s getting clear to Tom why Trey looks like that, it’s guilt that’s been eating him inside out, he feels guilty thinking that somehow his testimony hurt further his defense.

“You think I'm upset about what you said in there? Why didn't you tell me? I'm your brother. All those years, everything you were going through.” Tom bites his lip trying to stop himself from just flooding Trey with questions he might not be ready to answer just yet.

“You were busy with your own life. I had spent mine being a burden. I didn't want to be that anymore...”

“Trey, you are not a burden.”

“I know.” Trey is quick to answer, he does truly know that now, he knows that his brother doesn’t see him as a burden he knows that he’s not just some dead weight that his brother has to carry around, he knows it, _now,_ “I know that now. I didn't know it then.”

“When this whole thing is over, regardless of the outcome, I want us to go somewhere. Just the two of us brothers.” He says after some minutes of silence between them.

Trey smiles, “And 40 secret service.” He says snarky.

“Believe it or not, they are pretty good at keeping a low profile.” Tom says smiling back at his brother, Trey nods, “It's a deal, big brother. I know just the place.” Trey says, the naughty smile on his lips is exactly what Tom was scared of.

“Fort Knox.” Trey nods, “I'll bring one suitcase...”

“I was hoping that we could go somewhere that wasn't gonna land you in jail.” He mutters but Trey seems to be ignoring him completely, “Are you gonna show me the UFOs?” he asks, Tom sees parts of his childhood innocence peeking through, when he shakes his head “Why me?” he stands up and ruffles his little brother’s hair before leaving the room, Trey still sitting on the couch smiling, “Tom, I won't tell anybody. I swear!”

* * *

 

Alex sees Tom getting ready for his testimony, one day, only it took one day for the faith of his presidency to be decided and he was the last act before the finale. It’s almost poetic she has to admit. He didn’t sleep well last night, he was worried and insomniac, she fixes his tie for him and gives him the warmest smile she could muster, she knew for a fact that after a long and tiring day tonight he would know if his presidency was over and it was quite possible that they might not be sleeping in the residence tonight depending how this will go.

Seeing him on the stand was a weird feeling for her, he was calm and she was thankful for that. “Mr. President, you've listened to all of today's testimony, right?”

“Yes.”

“Was any of it untrue?”

“No.”

“When Dr. Louden testified about your problems after your wife's accident and the assassination attempt against you, that was accurate?” he asks, Alex is glad West mentions the assassination attempt because she knows for a fact that her car accident wasn’t the cause of Tom’s troubles more like the last straw that broke the camel’s back.  “Yes.”

“When Aaron Shore said you attacked Kunami without heeding counsel to wait, was that not accurate?”

“Yes.”

“When Emily Rhodes testifies that you have a pre-occupation with loyalty...”

“Yes, that was accurate, as well.” Tom says cutting West off “Today, all of you have heard what a deeply flawed man I am, either because members of my family have had to struggle through issues with mental health or because I was paralyzed with fear of losing my wife, or because I came face to face with my own mortality twice in less than two months, or because I miss my mother after five years of her being gone so much. Because I have expected loyalty from people that I give it to or because I declared war on a country that I still, to this very day, believe had every intention of harming us. The truth is, I've made mistakes...but not for any of the reasons that you've heard here today. I've made mine because I'm human. And it is human to make mistakes. So I find myself sitting here trying to figure out why I'm fighting for a job that I never asked for... that I never wanted. One that has cost me dearly.” He stops for a moment, turning his eyes to Alex and to his surprise Trey who was sitting in the audience, thinking of how close he came to never seeing either of them again, how close he came to actually losing Alex for ever because he was the president and she was dragged into a conspiracy trying to frame her to probably get to him, it was killing him, splitting his heart right in two, but the smile on her face as she looks at him, the encouraging hand on his back as they were driving to the court room gave him enough courage to comfort all of his demons today.

“But I believe that the Presidency is more important than any single person. So... that's why I'm here. I'm fighting for what I believe is the integrity of the Presidency... because I have heard absolutely nothing here today that would warrant or justify the removal of someone... Anyone... From this great office. It's that simple.” The doors to the court room open and Emily walks in, Lyor follows her closely behind, both of them with large smiles on their faces as they nod yes to him almost at the same time, Tom smiles back before turning back to Eleanor who knew what was happening, so far he hadn’t looked up, he didn’t dare to look at anyone from the cabinet or his vice president, he does it now though, he sees Eleanor smiling, and he searches for Kimble, he doesn’t really care about the others at the moment, just these two women that have stood by him through this ordeal. Kimble is almost beaming, a large smile on her face for the first time in the whole day, “Madam Vice President, esteemed members of the Cabinet, I need to excuse myself. I have a budget to sign. Which will be the only Presidential thing I'll do today.”

* * *

 

 “Alex!” Alex turns around and sees Eleanor walking out of the oval office, “Eleanor.”

“The cabinet deliberated.” Alex notices there was some relief in her voice but chose to ignore it for now, she’s not the one to hope right now, she can’t have her hopes crash and crumble. “I heard Kimble’s” she says, Eleanor smiles, she heard Kimble as well the other woman wasn’t really subtle in her efforts to hide what exactly she was thinking of the whole charade. “Yeah her saying bullshit every other minute wasn’t that subtle.”

“No it wasn’t” Alex says, she can see Eleanor feeling nervous, she was good enough in reading body language to know that.

The silence between them was getting really uncomfortable, “Anyway the cabinet has decided not to invoke the 25th.” Eleanor says, it makes Alex feel angry, she doesn’t really understand why, not very well at least, she should be happy, she should be ecstatic that they are not going to be kicked out of the place they called home for over a year but instead she’s furious, “So all this mess for nothing.” She chuckles,  “Well fucking done.” She almost whispers and turns her head away, she’s frustrated, all this anxiety, all these fights, all for nothing.

“He changed hearts and minds.” Eleanor offers, Alex turns to face her, she’s surprised to see some hints of remorse in her eyes, “I know you don’t trust me but it was not my intention to undermine him. You know that right?”

Alex takes a deep breath, “I don’t, but call me crazy, I believe you.” The moment the words leave her mouth Eleanor’s face breaks into a big smile. “I’m sorry for barging in your office like I did.” Alex says remembering how she stormed into the Vice President’s office not really thinking of anything else other than what she perceived as the greatest betrayal of trust.

“Nah, I would have done the same.” Eleanor says smiling, “We’re cool?” she asks, Alex smiles and nods “We are.” Her face changes soon though, she bites the inside of her cheek, “But next time, come to me first.”

“Will try to.”

“Try hard, I don’t give third chances.”

* * *

 

Alex opens the door and walks in the office, Tom was sitting behind his desk, his eyes were closed but he opens them when he sees her entering, “Hey.”  She says, a smile on his face, Alex walks closer and sits on the desk next to him, his hand immediately finds its way to her knee. “Hey.” He doesn’t say anything but Alex is dying to hear him say what she knows he knows and hides, “So?”

“You’re really gonna make me say it?” he asks, it makes her smile wider, “Yeah!”

“You were right.” He says rolling his eyes at Alex’s large smile “You are enjoying this way too much!” he says when he sees her throwing her fists in the air in victory.

“Hell yeah.” She tells him leaning closer to him, he can feel the warmth of her breath on his lips, he sees the spark of mischief passing her eyes, “Anyway, I have a meeting with Hannah, we’ll talk later.” He says shaking his head, trying to focus back on his schedule, he’s a little distracted to be honest.

Alex gets up from the desk and walks to the glass door on the side of the office, “You bet your ass we will. One thing, black lace.” She throws over her shoulder before leaving a visibly flustered Tom behind.

* * *

 

“YOU FIRED HANNAH?” Tom winches at how loud Alex could be, “Shshshshshsh!” he grips her shoulders and tries to stop her from screaming his head off, “No, I did not.” He can see her thinking over what he told her, he knows full well she won’t believe him that easily, “Tom don’t you dare lie to me!” she hisses, he has to admit he’s glad she’s not screaming any more.

“I didn’t, I…” he looks around, Alex notices how paranoid he looks, “I had to make it look like I was firing her.” he whispers, “I had to give her cover to go dark.” Everything clicks in her head, “Investigate Andrea?” she asks him, Tom nods, she’s not that glad with how this came to be and tries to push to the back of her mind the little voice saying, at least you got rid of her.

“Andrea and whoever else is behind all this.” He bites his lip, “I still don’t think Andrea is behind this, maybe I’m too naïve, but I know better than to question your instinct.” She’ll be honest it hurts her a bit that Tom is so close with Andrea, she tries and keeps her distance from the other woman as much as possible but apparently Tom didn’t.

“Ok.” She says, Tom lets go of her shoulders, his hands falling awkwardly next to his torso. “I guess, I can live with that.” Tom nods, there’s an uncomfortable silence between them for a moment, Tom is sure that the night he had thought they’d have is long gone by now, “Wanna see the little lace number I have under this dress?” she asks surprising him, Tom smiles, “You shouldn’t have even asked.”


End file.
